This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Connecting to the Internet Using Wi-Fi Networks

Your iPhone is designed to seamlessly connect to the Internet so apps that use the Internet to work, such as Safari to browse the Web, are always ready when you need them. Wi-Fi networks provide fast Internet connections and you usually have an unlimited amount of data to work with, so you don’t have to worry about paying more based on how you are using your iPhone. Because of their speed and unlimited data (usually), Wi-Fi networks are the best way for your iPhone to connect to the Internet.

Wi-Fi networks are available just about everywhere you go, including homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, and other locations. Fortunately, it’s very easy to connect your iPhone to the Wi-Fi networks you encounter. (And, if there isn’t a Wi-Fi network available, your iPhone uses its cellular data network to connect to the Internet, which is covered later in this chapter.)

Almost all Wi-Fi networks broadcast their information so that you can easily see them with your iPhone; these are called open networks because anyone who is in range can attempt to join one because they appear on Wi-Fi devices automatically. The Wi-Fi networks you can see on your iPhone in public places (such as airports and hotels) are all open. Likewise, any Wi-Fi networks in your home or office are very likely to be open as well. To connect your iPhone to an open network, you tap its name and then enter its password (if required).

Your iPhone remembers Wi-Fi networks you’ve connected to previously and joins one of them automatically when available; these are called known networks. For example, if you have a Wi-Fi network at home and another in your office, when you change locations, your iPhone automatically changes Wi-Fi networks.

If your iPhone can’t connect to a known network, it automatically searches for other Wi-Fi networks to join. If one or more are available, a prompt appears showing the networks available to your iPhone. You can select and join one of these networks by tapping its name on the list of networks and entering its password (if one is required, you need to obtain it from the source of the network, such as a hotel or restaurant).

If no Wi-Fi networks are available or you choose not to connect to one, your iPhone automatically switches to its cellular data connection (covered in “Connecting to the Internet Using Cellular Data Networks” later in this chapter).

Connecting to Open Wi-Fi Networks

To connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network, perform the following steps:

On the Home screen, tap Settings. Next to Wi-Fi, you see the status of your Wi-Fi connection. It is Off if Wi-Fi is turned off, Not Connected if Wi-Fi is turned on and your phone isn’t currently connected to Wi-Fi, or the name of the Wi-Fi network to which your iPhone is connected.

Tap Wi-Fi.

If Wi-Fi isn’t enabled already, slide the Wi-Fi switch to on (green) and your iPhone searches for available networks. A list of available networks is displayed in the CHOOSE A NETWORK section (it can take a moment for all the networks available in the area to be shown). Along with each network’s name, icons indicating whether it requires a password (the padlock icon) to join and the current signal strength (the radio waves icon) are displayed.

QUICK ACCESS TO THE WI-FI SWITCH

You can quickly turn Wi-Fi on or off using the Control Center, which you can open by swiping down from the upper-right corner of the screen (X models) or swiping up from the bottom of the screen (non-X models). If the Wi-Fi icon (it looks like the signal strength indicator on the Wi-Fi Setting screen) is blue, Wi-Fi is on. Tap that icon to turn Wi-Fi off (the icon becomes gray). Tap it again to turn Wi-Fi on and reconnect to a known network. See Chapter 1 for more information about working with the Control Center.

Tap the network you want to join. Of course, when a network requires a password, you must know that password to be able to join it. Another consideration should be signal strength; the more waves in the network’s signal strength icon, the stronger the connection.

At the prompt, enter the password for the network you selected. If you aren’t prompted for a password, skip to step 7. (You’re likely to find networks that don’t require a password in public places; see the next section for information on these types of networks.)

Tap Join. If you provided the correct password, your iPhone connects to the network and gets the information it needs to connect to the Internet. If not, you’re prompted to enter the password again. After you successfully connect to the network, you return to the Wi-Fi screen.

Review the network information. The network to which you are connected appears just below the Wi-Fi switch and is marked with a check mark. You also see the signal strength for that network.

Try to move to a web page, such as www.bradmiser.com, to test your Wi-Fi connection. (See Chapter 12, “Surfing the Web,” for details.) If the web page opens, you are ready to use the Internet on your phone. If you are taken to a login web page for a Wi-Fi provider rather than the page you were trying to access, see the next task. If you see a message saying the Internet is not available, there is a problem with the network you joined. Go back to step 4 to select a different network.

>>>GO FURTHER: CONNECTING TO WI-FI NETWORKS

As you connect to Wi-Fi networks, consider the following:

Typing passwords—As you type a password, each character is hidden by a dot in the Password field except for the last character you entered, which is displayed on the screen for a moment. Keep an eye on characters as you enter them because you can fix a mistake as soon as you make it rather than finding out after you’ve entered the entire password and having to start over.

Changing networks—You can use these same steps to change the Wi-Fi network you are using at any time. For example, if you have to pay to use one network while a different one is free, simply choose the free network in step 4.

Be known—After your iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network successfully, it becomes a known network. This means that your iPhone remembers its information so you don’t have to enter it again. Your iPhone automatically connects to known networks when it needs to access the Internet. So unless you tell your iPhone to forget a network (explained later in this chapter), you need to enter its password only the first time you connect to it.

Security recommendation—If you are connected to a network that doesn’t use what Apple considers sufficient security, you see the words “Security Recommendation” under the network’s name. If you tap Info (i) for that network, you see its Info screen. At the top of that screen, you see the type of security the network is using and a recommendation about the type of security it should use. If the Wi-Fi network comes from a router or modem you own or rent, contact your Internet service provider, such as a cable company, to learn how the security provided by that router or modem can be reconfigured to be more secure. If the network is in a public place or business, you just have to use it as is (unless you can contact the administrator of that network to see if better security is available).

Have a network, but no Internet—If you successfully connect to a network, but there is an exclamation point on top of the signal strength icon, the network you are connected to might not have a current Internet connection. Sometimes, that’s because you need to provide some additional information to reach the Internet (as described in the next section). At other times, it’s because the network has lost its connection to the Internet. You’ll need to get that connection restored (such as by contacting your provider) before you can use that network to connect to the Internet. (If you are working with a network inside your home or business that you control, try resetting the modem, which usually involves unplugging the modem, waiting for about 30 seconds, and plugging it in again. This often solves the issue and should be the first thing you try, even before contacting your provider.)

Personal hotspots— iPhones and iPads can share their cellular Internet connection (how to do this is covered in a later Go Further sidebar) with other devices by providing a Wi-Fi network to which you can connect your iPhone. The icons for these networks are a bit different, being two connected loops that indicate the network is from a hotspot. You can select and use these networks just like the other types of networks being described in this chapter. The speed of your access is determined mostly by the speed of the device’s cellular data connection. Also, the data you use while connected to the hotspot’s network counts against the data plan for the device to which you are connected.

Connecting to Public Wi-Fi Networks

Many Wi-Fi networks in public places, such as hotels or airports, require that you pay a fee or provide other information to access the Internet through that network; even if access is free, you usually have to accept terms and conditions for the network to be able to use it.

When you connect to one of these public networks, you’re prompted to provide whatever information is required. This can involve different details for different networks, but the general steps are the same. Follow the instructions that appear.

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY

Many public Wi-Fi networks have very limited or no security. This means the information being transmitted from your iPhone to and from the Internet is susceptible to being intercepted by hackers and others who are looking for personal information. It’s best practice not to use these networks for sensitive information, such as to access your bank account or other areas where you don’t want to run any risk of your information being compromised. They are perfectly fine for browsing the Web, email, and other such activities.

Following are the general steps to connect to many types of public Wi-Fi networks:

Move to the Settings screen.

Tap Wi-Fi.

Tap the network you want to join. You move to that network’s Log In screen. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the process. This often involves selecting a connection option and providing payment or identification information, as this example of connecting to a hotel’s Wi-Fi network shows.

Choose the connection option you want to use.

Provide the information required to join the network, such as a last name and room number. If a fee is required, you have to provide payment information (if you are in a hotel, the fee is added to your room charges). In many cases, you at least have to indicate that you accept the terms and conditions for using the network, which you typically do by checking a check box.

Tap the icon to join the network. This icon can have different labels depending on the type of access, such as Connect, Authenticate, Done, Free Access, Login, and so on.

Tap Done (if required).

Try to move to a web page, such as www.wikipedia.org, to test your Wi-Fi connection (not shown in a figure). (See Chapter 12 for details.) If the web page opens, you are ready to use the Internet on your phone. If you are taken to a login web page for the Wi-Fi network’s provider, you need to provide the required information to be able to use the Internet. For example, when access is free, as it is at most airports, you usually just have to indicate you accept the terms of use for that network.

NO PROMPT?

Not all public networks prompt you to log in as these steps explain. Sometimes, you use the network’s website to log in instead. After you join the network (step 3), your iPhone is connected to the network without any prompts. When you try to move to a web page as explained in step 8, you’re prompted to log in to or create an account with the network’s provider on the web page that appears.

A CLOSED NETWORK

Some Wi-Fi networks are closed, which means they don’t broadcast their names. Closed networks aren’t listed in the CHOOSE A NETWORK section on the Wi-Fi screen. To be able to access a closed network, you need to know its name, its password, and the type of security it uses. With this information in hand, tap Other in the CHOOSE A NETWORK section. Then type the network’s name. Tap Security, choose the appropriate type, and tap Other Network. Enter the network’s password and tap Join. After you join them once, closed networks become known so you have to enter all of this information only the first time you use that network.

Disabling Automatic Prompting

When your iPhone can’t find a known network—meaning one that you’ve used before—it presents a prompt showing you the currently available networks. You can use this prompt to select and join one of these networks. This can be useful because you don’t have to use the Settings app to find a network to which you are going to connect; instead, you can just tap a network at the prompt to join it.

However, this automatic prompting for networks can be as annoying as it is helpful. It is helpful in that your iPhone prompts you when it comes into range of a network it doesn’t know, which can make it easier to know when a network is available to you. It can be annoying when you are moving around a lot because what you are doing can be frequently interrupted by the prompt, even if you don’t want to connect to one of the available networks. For example, when you walk through an airport, the prompt can appear multiple times as you move between networks.

To disable automatic network prompting, perform the following steps:

Open the Settings app and move to the Wi-Fi screen.

Set the Ask to Join Networks switch to off (white). To connect to unknown networks, you need to use the Settings app as described in the previous tasks because your iPhone no longer automatically prompts you to join unknown networks. (Remember that it still joins known networks, meaning those you have used before, automatically.)

Forgetting Wi-Fi Networks

As you learned earlier, your iPhone remembers networks you have joined and connects to them automatically as needed; these are known networks. Although this is mostly a good thing, there are times when you no longer want to use a particular network any more. For example, when in an airport, you might decide to connect to a network for which you have to pay for faster Internet access, or you might prefer to access the Internet using cellular service. Each time you move through that airport, your iPhone connects to that network again automatically, which might not be what you want it to do.

To have your iPhone forget a network so it doesn’t automatically connect to it in the future, do the following:

Open the Wi-Fi screen in the Settings app by tapping Settings on a Home screen and then tapping Wi-Fi.

Tap Info (i) for the network that you want your iPhone to forget. (You can forget a network only if you are or have previously been connected to it.)

Tap Forget This Network.

Tap Forget in the resulting prompt. Your iPhone stops using and forgets the network. You return to the Wi-Fi screen. If another known network is available, your iPhone connects to it automatically. If a network you’ve forgotten is still in range of your iPhone, it continues to appear in the CHOOSE A NETWORK section, but your iPhone no longer automatically connects to it. You can re-join a forgotten network at any time, just as you did the first time you connected to it.

FORGET VERSUS AUTO-JOIN

When you forget a network, your iPhone stops connecting to it automatically and erases the network’s password so you have to enter it again if you want to re-join that network. If you just want to stop automatically joining the network but keep its password on your iPhone, set the Auto-Join switch to off (white) instead of performing step 3. Your iPhone stops automatically connecting to that network, but you can re-join it at any time by tapping it on the CHOOSE A NETWORK list (you don’t have to re-enter the password as you do if you forget a network).

CELL PHONE PROVIDER WI-FI NETWORKS

Many cell phone providers also provide other services, particularly public Wi-Fi networks. In some cases, you can access that provider’s Internet service through a Wi-Fi network that it provides; often, you can do this at no additional charge. So, you can take advantage of the speed a Wi-Fi connection provides without paying more for it. You connect to these networks just like any other by selecting them on the network list. What happens next depends on the specific network. In some cases, you need to enter your mobile phone number and then respond to a text message to that phone number. Check your provider’s website to find out whether it offers this service and where and how you can access it.